Familiarize Yourself

I first saw Cavashawn opening for The Academy Is… at a benefit show this past Spring. The show took place in an indoor basketball court converted to act as a music venue. Roughly 100 audience members assembled in the 500+ capacity room. Needless to say, the room looked rather bleak. The energy, however, was anything but. Cavashawn, who followed a set by Love Me Electric (or was it the other way around?), had me moving instantly as they lit up the room, or at least the 15 feet in front of the stage, with an incredible “dance with me” energy.

I decided to test them out in a more appropriate-sized and well-attended setting a few weeks later when they headlined at Beat Kitchen. Cavashawn had every girl on the floor singing along to songs like “Madison” (my personal favorite) and “Just Because”. I’ve seen them a few times since then and have yet to be disappointed. Oh, and they like to throw a cover of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” into most sets,playing off of the song’s infectious groove and adding their own flavor that will get even the toughest “too hip” audience members to embrace the dance floor.

Catchy riffs (some of which are reminiscent of Grease-era love songs; see: “The Day You Forgot About Me”, “Keep the Light On”, and “Secret Satisfaction”), sweet melodies, and sing-a-long lyrics will surely keep me – and many others – coming back for more. They head out for a New England tour soon, so my advice: catch them while you can!

Cavashawn will be playing at the Beat Kitchen with Last Fast Action and The Composure on August 21.

Beat Kitchen: 2100 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60618
Date/Time: Aug. 21 / 6:30pm
Cost: $8 pre-sale / $10 day of

-Gali